Tag Archives | Mythology

Joscelyn Godwin is a kind of national treasure, a one man trove of esoterica. Here he brings his alarmingly broad intellect to a perennial myth, Atlantis, writing for Watkins Magazine:

Did you hear, they’ve found Atlantis on the Spanish coast, outside the Pillars of Hercules, just as Plato said!”

I’m afraid I didn’t show much excitement when several people broke this news to me earlier this year. “Thank you. That makes thirty-one places, by my count, where they’ve found Plato’s Atlantis,” I replied.

Athanasius Kircher’s Atlantis

Of course it’s always exciting when ancient sites are discovered and the vista of the prehistoric past expands. I like to hear about Gobekli Tepe, the Balkan and Chinese pyramids, Kennewick Man, the Hobbits of Flores, and so on. The New Archaeology pioneered by John Anthony West, Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval and Robert Schoch is a tonic for the imagination. So is the Atlantis myth in its broader meaning, which is that cultures have risen and fallen long before our own.

I have no religious convictions. I am, or try to be, a man of reason, not of faith. Nevertheless, I believe a few simple arguments demonstrate that morality requires a god.

Take moral commands. It is trivially true that a moral command is a command. A command is a command, right? It is also true that commands (real ones, rather than apparent or metaphorical ones) are always the commands of an agent, a mind with beliefs and desires. My chair cannot command me to sit in it. And commands cannot issue themselves. It follows that moral commands are the commands of an agent or agents.

Many philosophers maintain that moral commands are commands of reason. They are right, I think. But the point still stands. Reason’s commands are commands. Therefore, reason’s commands are the commands of an agent or agents.… Read the rest

Did you know that vampire myths may actually have come from Medieval fears of a rare genetic disorder called porphyria? Guardian Liberty Voice has the story:

The origin of the vampire myth may not have come only from the excitable minds of Middle Age peasants. Instead, a rare genetic disorder called porphyria might have started the tales, according to biochemist Dr. David H. Dolphin of the University of British Columbia and other scientists.

Photo: Lua Morales (CC)

Porphyria is a rare group of at least eight blood disorders. A patient is diagnosed with porphyria if any of the eight different enzymes that create porphyrin, a body chemical which transforms into heme (another chemical the body needs) when in contact with iron, are affected. A patient lacking in any one of the eight enzymes is not able to produce heme, which is responsible for items such as cell differentiation and protein synthesis.

This interview is with Benton Rooks, author of the TRETA-YUGA graphic novel trilogy, writer for Reality Sandwich and Disinfo, and a generally awesome guy. In 2014 he co-coined the term “entheodelic storytelling” with Graham Hancock, shamanic filmmaker/author Rak Razam, and Jeremy D. Johnson, editor of the psychedelic culture section of RS.

We speak about the often-marginalized power of the storytelling narrative in fiction and literature, the role of mythology in contemporary culture, altered states for creativity, and generally what it's like to be a fringe-writer in the modern world.

Remember the infamous Necropants housed in Iceland’s Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft? Well just in time for Christmas comes this tale from the National Museum of Iceland of the Yule Lads, descended from trolls and a whole lot scarier than Santa Claus. They visit the museum on the 13 days before Christmas, starting today, December 12th:

The Icelandic Yule Lads bear little similarity to the world-famous Santa Claus, who is descended from St. Nicholas, patron saint of children and sailors. In contrast, the Icelandic Yule Lads are descended from trolls and their original role was to strike fear in the hearts of children. As it happens, they are the sons of two of the most hideous ogres ever known in Iceland, Grýla and Leppalúði.

No doubt most children would have wanted to avoid the Icelandic Yule Lads in the old days, since they were used by parents to frighten their children into behaving – just as Grýla and Leppalúði are today.

My cinematic graphic novel TRETA-YUGA—the sequel to my breakout success KALI-YUGA—is now live on Kickstarter. In light of this, I thought I’d note the ways in which Eastern lore has profoundly influenced my work in graphic novels.

The Japanese have always had a distinct way of portraying supernatural encounters with otherworldly beings. The infiltration of J-horror into the stale domain of Hollywood was an early sign of amnesiac Westerners longing to learn of the old ways. Supernatural encounters with the other (often the demonic Yokai), in whatever horrific way they are experienced in media, is seen by the Japanese as a way of gleaning knowledge from forgotten ancestry and learning the delicate threads of fate. It is in these darkly psychedelic, shadow healing encounters with the Gods that mortals are forced to reconsider the meaning of time, matter, and being.

The biggest mystery associated with the gods is why they came here in the first place. There are a variety of theories as to why an advanced civilization would come to the Earth. The one that often surfaces is that there were problems on their home world such as overpopulation, pollution, or a shortage of natural resources. These issues could have caused a group of explorers to leave their planet and seek out new life and new civilizations. It could be that their home world was destroyed and a lucky few managed to escape. Perhaps the Galactic Federation of Planets needed to create a way station between heaven (Asgard) and hell (Hel). It does seem apparent from ancient sources that the subjugation of humankind was not their goal.… Read the rest

Many will agree that HBO’s True Detective season 1 has been one of the more thought provoking episodic narratives of 2014. HBO has defined itself for some time now on distributing quality original content, leading the way in that regard, though Netflix is now entering the picture as a serious contender in its own right.

Nevertheless, there is something particularly daring about using the tried and true, rather old school cops and bad guys format for a character-piece.

What do I mean by that? Well, the case they are investigating does little more than provide us a mirror for the two “bad men,” our protagonists Rust and Marty. So if you’re looking to unlock the Keys to Carcosa, you’re going to be horribly frustrated with this series.

The Lange murder is just a Trojan Horse. The real story here is much richer and stranger: who are these men, and how did this murder change their lives?